Homemade Lard

The following is a method of rendering pork fat into usable lard. The word “lard” probably strikes fear into the hearts of health-conscientious Americans. However, lard is a perfectly natural and healthful (gasp) monounsaturated form of fat. Lard is actually full of fat soluble vitamin D when it comes from pigs raised outdoors in plenty of sunshine (just like the ones at Stryker). And if you’re on a any form of paleo diet, rendering your own lard from hormone free pigs is a must!

Instructions:

Simply cut up the fat back into cubes. Heat it over a low heat in a heavy bottomed pot until the fat has melted, and all that remains are the golden “cracklins”, which won’t melt.

Use a cheesecloth or a jelly bag, shown, to strain the cracklin’s from the hot rendered fat into a non-reactive container, such as a mason jar. Let the fat cool to room temperature. That’s it! You can refrigerate the lard for a month or freeze it for up to a year. Use lard as a replacement to butter or olive oil when cooking. It also makes tremendous pie crusts and biscuits.

This type of lard will retain a bit of a porky odor and flavor, so it’s best used for sauteing and frying. If you want some lard to made a rockin’ pastry dough, you’ll want to use leaf lard. You can buy it ready made here!